Placer County Conservation Plan

The Placer County Conservation Plan (PCCP) is a County-proposed solution to coordinate and streamline the permitting process by allowing local entities to issue state and federal permits. The proposed PCCP is a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) under the Federal Endangered Species Act and a Natural Community Conservation Plan (NCCP) under the California Natural Community Conservation Planning Act. As proposed, the PCCP would include the County Aquatic Resources Program (CARP) to issue permits related to the Federal Clean Water Act and the California Fish and Game Code. The CARP component would distinguish the Plan as a nationally unique model of natural resource management. In proposing this streamlined process, both costs and uncertainties would be reduced substantially, thus ensuring a more efficient use of public dollars. Furthermore, the proposed PCCP is a landscape-level plan so that each project would be issued permits based on how it contributes to the County’s natural, social, and economic health now and in the future.

Overview

The PCCP covers approximately 201,000 acres of Western Placer County. Within the proposed PCCP plan area, 50,000 to 60,000 acres within the available potential acquisition area would become part of a reserve system. This conservation reserve system would preserve many acres of vernal pool habitat (approximately 50 percent of the County’s remaining stock of these fragile, seasonal ecosystems). This acreage occurs in the unincorporated County and City of Lincoln areas. The proposed PCCP is designed to ensure that land will be managed to continue to support the survival and well being of the covered species, as well as the survival of hundreds of other species that are dependent on the same habitat. By proactively addressing the long-term conservation and development needs of the County, the proposed PCCP will strengthen local control over land use and provides greater flexibility in meeting the County’s social and economic needs for the future.

Natural Resources Report

This Natural Resources Report was prepared at the request of the Placer County Planning Division to provide background information on the biological and other natural resources of the Phase I Planning Area of western Placer County (Phase I Planning Area). This information will be used in the preparation of a Natural Communities Conservation Plan/Habitat Conservation Plan (NCCP/HCP) for the Phase I Planning Area. This area comprises 39 watersheds and encompasses an area of approximately 111,000 hectares (270,000 acres).

The document is provided below in PDF format, or as a complete document (18.6mb) in zipped format. You will need to save this .zip file to your local computer and open/extract it from there.

Oak Woodlands Management Plan

Placer County's Oak Woodland Management Plan provides a consistent policy for oak woodland habitats throughout the County and compliments programs and policies including: 1) projects subject to an environmental assessment under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA); 2) projects subject to the Placer County Tree Preservation Ordinance; and (3) projects evolving out of the Placer Legacy Program. Ultimately the goal of this Plan will be to adequately mitigate the impact of the loss of oak woodland communities, and provide guidance on the conservation of the oak woodland communities. The Management Plan also takes into consideration other trees and plants associated with the oak woodland-dominated natural communities and the value these communities provide to wildlife, air and water quality benefits, and quality of life.

Public Outreach

Regional habitat conservation planning processes require public support to be successful. Public involvement activities began with the initiation of the Placer County HCP/NCCP and will continue throughout the planning process and throughout Plan implementation. Various committees have been formed as directed by the Placer County Board of Supervisors in association with the Placer County Conservation Plan (PCCP). Committees include:

PCCP Working Committee

Biological Working Group

Environmental Group

Agricultural Committee

Economic Advisory Committee

Technical Advisory Committee

Ad Hoc Working Group

Landowner Subcommittee

If you have questions or comments about this project, or for more information, please contact: